ABINGDON, VA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Virginia, Western), published as received.
ABINGDON, Va. – A man who used Snapchat to sexually exploit a pair of middle school girls from Southwest Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in federal prison.
Justin Steven Boileau, 31, a former resident of Reston, Va. who also spent time in Merritt Island, Fla., pled guilty in February 2026 to two counts of sexual exploitation of children.
“Protecting children from online threats is a clear prosecution priority in the Western District of Virginia,” First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. “We will continue to work with our partners at the FBI, as well as state and local law enforcement, to seek accountability for online sexual predators.”
According to court documents, Boileau used the messaging app Snapchat to entice two minor females from Southwest Virginia – Minor Victim One and Minor Victim Two– to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct. Additionally, law enforcement has confirmed Boileau enticed at least 9 other minors to produce CSAM in other jurisdictions.
Specifically, in the fall of 2023, Boileau began conversing with Minor Victim One via Snapchat. At the time, Boileau was in his late 20s and resided in Reston, Virginia. Minor Victim One was twelve years old at that time and lived in Russell County, Va. Boileau portrayed himself online as a hockey player named ‘Josh’ and began conversating with Minor Victim One in an explicitly sexual manner. These conversations continued over the course of several months through the early part of 2024. During these conversations, Boileau asked Minor Victim One for sexually explicit depictions of herself. At Boileau’s request, Minor Victim One sent, among other things, nude photos and videos of herself. Boileau also sent images to Minor Victim One of what he claimed to be his penis.
Additionally, in early 2024, Boileau used Snapchat to converse with Minor Victim Two, a twelve-year-old minor who lived in Russell County, Va. As with Minor Victim One, Boileau’s conversations with Minor Victim Two were sexual in nature. At Boileau’s request, Minor Victim Two sent him nude pictures and pictures of herself masturbating. Boileau also directed his minor victims to write messages on their bodies when they produced CSAM images for him.
Boileau knew both Minor Victim One and Minor Victim Two were minors when he requested these images and videos.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Russell County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Carrie Macon is prosecuting the case for the United States.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/ .
